It's A Mad House: Shape Shifters, Demons and Madness, Oh My!
by Operation Zero
Summary: Soul Eater meets Ao Oni in this suspenseful crossover. Kid must join Stein and Death Scythe on a mission to a haunted mansion in the middle of nowhere. But when Stein reveals that the place is crawling with madness wavelengths, will Kid be able to keep hold of his sanity and protect the ones he loves? Or will he become the threat? Rated T for violence and language.


_**Background:**_ WARNING. I SUGGEST YOU READ THE BACKGROUND BEFORE CONTINUING ON. If not, you may find yourself battling a great deal of confusion. This is set about a year and a half after Asura's defeat. After Asura's defeat, Death the Kid found that he'd been infected with some form of madness. In the time between then and now, Kid almost died twice and was clinically dead once. He was consumed by the madness, nearly killing Lord Death by trying to force his own sanzu lines to connect. Lord Death was able to drive the madness out of his son, but due to the stories that were being told about the incidents, Kid dropped out of the Academy and became somewhat of a shut in. Twice, he nearly relapsed, and at one point Kid developed a serious eating disorder. Now, he has to battle a mad house that might just send his madness over the edge again.

**DISCLAIMER:** I unfortunately do not own Soul Eater and any of its characters, nor do I own Ao Oni.

_**It's a Mad House**_

_**Shape shifters, Demons and Madness, Oh My!**_

_Kid, I have a new assignment for you. Now, I know you don't technically attend the Academy anymore, but this assignment in particular is far too difficult for a regular meister and weapon team to tackle. Being a reaper though, I thought you might be able to handle it._

_There's a rather large estate in the middle of a forest, located out past the desert. Actually, it's incredibly close to where Aracne's base was once located. Lately, there have been an increasing number of disappearances documented in the area surrounding the estate. I had Professor Stein, along with Death Scythe, travel to the area and check it out. Stein reported that there was a large concentration of madness wavelengths surrounding the estate. I don't know what might be hiding in that house or why it's producing such large madness wavelengths, but given the level of madness control you should've gained after your incident, I think it best that you be the one to take whatever is inside of that house. Not only that, but your soul perception ability should be useful for picking up the wavelengths and tracking down the source. However, because of the sheer difficulty of this assignment, I have asked Stein to accompany you with Death Scythe as his weapon. As far as your weapons go, I think it'd be best if Liz and Patty sat this one out. Don't worry though; you won't be without a weapon. I had Stein create two pistols identical to Liz and Patty in their weapon forms. The pistols Stein created will still amplify your wavelength as strongly as the Thompson Sisters can. That being said, do you think you'd be up for it?_

Looking back on the conversation with his father, Death the Kid was beginning to wonder if saying that he could handle that particular assignment was such a great idea. He still hadn't bothered to tell anyone about his recent relapses with the madness, and deep down, he wasn't sure if entering a madness-infested house was such a fantastic idea, but what choice did he have? Had he said no, he was sure to be questioned by his father, Lord Death, and he didn't need anyone worrying about his health or his mental state at the moment. He'd finally managed to convince everyone that he was fine and that nothing was wrong anymore. As far as he was concerned, he wanted to keep it that way until he was sure he wasn't fine. So, he'd accepted the assignment without hesitation.

Sighing, the young grim reaper shoved his hands into the pockets of his dress pants and walked down the road towards the very edge of Death City. There, he would meet up with Professor Stein and Spirit, and the three would embark on the dangerous mission Lord Death had presented them with. _I'm probably just making a big deal out of nothing_, Kid thought to himself, shaking his head. _Stein's madness control is far greater than my own. If I stay close to him, I should be fine. Besides, if the professor didn't think I was capable of keeping my sanity intact while on this mission, he would've spoken to my father about it and asked that I be taken off the mission. Given the fact that I'm still very much a part of this assignment, the professor must have faith that I'll be able to keep the madness at bay. Speaking of the professor, where is he_, Kid thought as he approached the edge of the city. A quick glance around the area confirmed his suspicions that he was alone. "Damn," he mumbled. "I'm early."

"Good morning!" The small black cat gave a small yawn and stretched out her claws and legs. Her emerald eyes opened and she inspected the room she was currently in. _Kid sure knows how to make a guest feel welcome_, she thought happily. Stella Lux had been spending a few weeks with the young grim reaper, and truth be told she was loving it! She'd started staying in one of the guest rooms in Gallows Manor a few weeks ago after running into Kid during a late night walk. At some point during their conversation, the reaper had suggested she make plans to move to Death City. She wasn't sure if Kid knew, but Stella had already been considering leaving the comfort of the abandoned warehouse she called home and moving to the safest city she knew to exist. The only problem was that if she did move to Death City, she'd have no place to stay. It was then that Kid remembered the extra rooms in the Manor, and he insisted that Stella stay there. She'd been there ever since.

Stella changed into her human form and stood up, walking out of the room. "Kid!" she called, looking around for the black haired boy. "Huh. Maybe he's in his room," she thought out loud, walking down the hall until she reached the middle door. She opened it, hoping to find Kid fussing over the symmetry in his room, but alas, he wasn't there. She checked the rest of the Manor, even asking Liz and Patty if they'd seen him, but he was nowhere to be found. "That's odd. He probably just stepped out for a bit," she said cheerfully. She opened the large double doors to the mansion and walked outside. "Kid, where are you?" she called as she began to wander the streets in search of the reaper.

It wasn't long before she had the boy in her sights. She smiled, about to call his name when something stopped her from doing so. He seemed to be very focused on something, and Stella couldn't help but wonder what. She let her curious cat-like nature take over, and began following him silently. She kept a safe distance behind him until she saw him reach the city limits. Once he had, she made the decision to approach him. "Hey, Kid!" she said with a cheerful smile. True, Kid wasn't the tallest person around, but Stella was still somehow shorter than him. She didn't mind, though.

_That voice. But, why_, Kid thought to himself, his eyes widening slightly. He spun around to face the owner of the voice, and sure enough, there stood Stella. "Stella? What are you doing here?" he asked, frowning. "Didn't you see the note that I left for you?" Stella tilted her head slightly, trying to remember if she'd even seen a note in her room. "Um, no, I don't think I did," she said, nervously playing with strands of her long black hair. "What did it say?" Kid sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "It said that I probably won't be home for some time. Dad asked me to take on a very important assignment with Spirit and the professor," he said in his signature flat tone. "Oh," was all Stella said. She was rather sad to hear that he was leaving for even a little bit. "Well, maybe I could come with you! I'm an excellent fighter," she said with a bright smile, hoping the reaper would take her along. "Stella," Kid said frowning yet again. "I don't think that's such a great idea. Really, the only reason Dad's sending me on this mission is because it's far too difficult for a regular meister-weapon duo to handle." _I'm not even totally sure that _I'll _be able to handle it_, he thought to himself. "Well, if anything goes wrong, I'll just hide somewhere! Mice are awfully small, you know," she said with a chuckle. "I promise, Professor Stein and Mister Death Scythe won't even know I'm here," she said with a wink.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said a voice that made Kid tense. "And you don't have to call him 'Mister' Death Scythe," Franken Stein said with a small smirk as he adjusted his glasses. "I hardly think he's that special," he said, snickering. "Hey!" a red-haired man yelled, joining the group. "Don't forget, Stein, you need me," he said crossing his arms with a cocky look on his face. "Not really," Stein said causing Spirit to falter. "I could just as easily use Marie as my weapon. You're quite disposable, actually, and you're not too bright. Thinking about it, if we were still at the Academy, I would probably request to use Marie for this mission instead of you, but I'm stick with you now, so I'll just have to accept it," he said lighting up a cigarette. Kid and Stella turned to see the two men that were approaching them. "Oh… I, um, I guess I didn't see you there," Stella said with a nervous chuckle. "Ah yes, I remember you," Stein said taking a long drag on his cigarette. "You're the shape shifter girl, aren't you?" he asked. "I think the important question is what is she doing here?" Spirit asked, raising an eyebrow at Kid. "Now, now, Spirit, calm down. Though, admittedly, I _am_ quite interested to know why she's here." Kid sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "She followed me here and then, well, she asked if she could tag along." Stella nodded to confirm Kid's statement. "I'm an excellent fighter despite my size and appearance, and I'm both quiet and stealthy. It comes with the cat genes," she said with a chuckle.

"So can I please come with you?" she asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Stella, I don't think it's_" "Let her come," Stein said taking both Kid and Spirit by surprise. "Are you out of your mind?" Spirit hissed under his breath. "Probably," Stein said flatly. "Either way, if anything happens to the three of us, she can shape shift and probably easily get herself out of the estate and go to get help. We might as well take her along," he said taking another puff on his cigarette. "With all due respect, Professor, I'd rather not_" Kid began to say, but Stein cut him off yet again. "Don't listen to them. You can come along if you'd like," he said patting the girl's head. A bright smile lit up the shape shifter's face. "Really?! Oh, thank you so much!" she said happily. "I won't let you down, I promise!"

"Now that that's out of the way, can we please get this show on the road?" Spirit asked, clearly annoyed. "Right," Kid said. "We should get moving if we want to make it there by sundown," he said looking up at the position of the laughing sun to judge the current time. "We should've been well on our way by now," he mumbled. "Alright, I'll lead the way since Spirit and I know the general location of the estate," Stein said readjusting his glasses. "I'll call Beelzebub and follow you from the sky," Kid said taking off one of his rings and tossing it into the air. The ring spun and turned into a flashy skateboard with a skull on the underside of it. The board positioned itself under Kid's feet, and the wheels turned sideways, propelling the board into the air. "That way, I can let you know if I spot the house." Stella watched as Kid's ring turned into the skateboard known as Beelzebub. She had seen this many times before, but it still amazed her each and every time. "I'll stay on the ground for now," she said with a soft smile, staying close to the professor. Kid gave a small nod before lifting off of the ground and into the air. Truth be told, the real reason he'd volunteered to search for the estate from the sky was because he needed some time to himself to think this whole situation through. He had no idea how dangerous this was going to be, and then there was Stella… It wasn't that Kid didn't want her to come along. Well, he _didn't_ want her to come along, but he had his reasons. He had no idea how long he'd be able to keep his sanity intact, no idea how long it would be before he snapped.

While Kid traveled from above, Stella walked alongside the two older men. "Professor," she asked looking at the man with the screw sticking out of his head. "What exactly does Lord Death believe to be in the estate?" The girl's curiosity had grown about this mysterious place they were traveling to and what exactly Death's reasoning behind sending them there was. "That's the thing," Stein said lighting up another cigarette. "He doesn't have a clue. I think given the intensity of the madness wavelengths I picked up from the damn place when Spirit and I were investigating, he might be afraid that some sort of kishin might be hiding there. Though, even if it were a kishin, there's no way it could be as severe of a threat as Asura was," he said, seeming to find nostalgia in mentioning the kishin that had once sent his madness over the edge. "Stein, are you sure about that?" Spirit asked, looking at the professor with some concern. "Yes, I'm certain. Though, there is one thing that could prove quite problematic," he said, causing Kid to drop a bit in altitude so he could hear what the professor was saying. "What's that?" Spirit asked. "It's the fact that the madness wavelengths are more compressed. Even when Asura was infecting the world with his madness, the wavelengths were more spread out, not so packed together. This is different because the wavelengths are confined to just the estate, and there's such a large quantity of the wavelengths." Stella and Kid listened to the professor, trying to make sense of the whole situation. Stella was clueless as to the thing with Asura, or what this "madness" business was about, but with the way the professor was talking about it all, she knew she could safely assume that both were very dangerous. "So, the problem with us going in there isn't necessarily the kishin, but the madness it possesses?" she asked. "Well now, I didn't say that what dwells in there is a kishin for certain, but regardless of what _is_ in there, the madness it's giving off could be quite the limiting factor." Kid didn't miss the quick glance Stein shot him. "Gh. No matter, we should focus on finding out just what it is that's giving off such a large madness wavelength. Even if we can't stick around for a battle, it's at least something to know what we might be facing in the future," Kid said, hands in his pockets and gaze straight forward. Stella nodded to the both of them, understanding that this was going to be dangerous, but at the same time, she was excited. She had never been on a mission with Kid before. Now, she could finally see what it was like to be a student of the DWMA.

"I should warn you right now, we'll be arriving at sundown, so it's highly possible that we'll end up spending the night there," Stein said. Taking note of the paranoid look that crossed Spirit's face, he added with a small smirk, "Don't worry. I'll restrain myself from performing any experiments over the course of the night." This seemed to put Kid at ease, but not so much Spirit. "Anyways, the two of you need to be prepared for anything. I don't know what you should expect. Just be on a constant look-out, and don't do anything stupid that will put your life in danger," he said, putting out his cigarette. _Too late_, Kid thought, frowning. With the way things had been recently, just by accepting the mission he'd automatically put his life in danger. Stella nodded to the professor. "Yes sir! I'll keep a watchful eye for anything suspicious," she said. Her demeanor changed from that of her normal lighthearted self to a rather serious state. She didn't actually mind possibly having to spend the night in the place they were going to. She was used to old creepy houses after living in the warehouse for almost eight years. For all she knew, it might even remind her of the warehouse.

"I think I see it," Kid announced several hours later as a large mansion-type house came into view. Though, as he got closer, the reaper saw it was actually far larger than a typical mansion. It was larger even than Gallows Manor. "I'm picking up strong madness wavelengths," Stein said, turning the screw in his head as Kid lowered himself to the ground. "This is it," the doctor said spinning around, causing the other three to stop. "Are you all ready for what lies ahead? Recalling the rumors about the house and the number of people that walk inside and never walk back out, I wouldn't be surprised if once we walk inside, the doors lock behind us, trapping us inside until we get rid of whatever is producing those wavelengths. Are you prepared to accept this fate? If not, turn back now. This is your last chance." Kid had half a mind to speak up and call it quits, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he remained silent. Then there was Stella. Though concerned with her fate, she knew she couldn't back out now. She gave a nod in answer to Stein's question. "Yes sir. I accept this," she said, her demeanor still very serious. She gave a silent sigh, releasing any tension that had had previously clouded her mind. "Good. Assuming no one has anything else to add, we'll continue on," Stein said. "Spirit, go ahead and transform. I want to be ready for anything this house might throw at us. Kid, I'd advise you to ready your weapons." Kid gave a small nod, calling Beelzebub back and placing the ring on his finger so that it was perfectly symmetrical to the other one. He stuck his hands in his pockets and brought them out with a pistol in each, held upside down so that his pinkies were on the triggers. "I'm ready," he said with a determined expression. "Stella, stay close to me. If anything happens, I'll protect you," Kid said, glancing behind him at the girl. Stella looked up at Kid with a soft smile and nodded, moving close to him. She was pretty sure that she could protect herself just fine, but she decided she'd let him be the one to protect her anyways. "Let's go already," Spirit said, his reflection appearing in the blade of the staff Stein was holding. Kid and Stella exchanged glances before focusing their eyes on the doors before them. This was it.


End file.
